Institutional research (IR) has a variety of definitions. International societies, such as the US-based Association for Institutional Research (AIR), stress not so much the topics of research, but the outcomes: "improved understanding, planning, management, and operation of postsecondary educational institutions and agencies"; "promote the development of institutional management, planning and policy implementation." There is also a strong focus on applying research and engagement with practitioners: "strengthen the interaction between researchers, policy-makers and practitioners"; "encourage the development and application of appropriate methodologies and techniques from many disciplines to further such research, analysis, and planning." This paper proposes a broad framework for conceptualising research into the student learning experience (SLE). From this framework the author derives a taxonomy for forms of enquiry into the SLE, a taxonomy that has been used to help guide the Higher Education Academy in its funding for small projects investigating aspects of the SLE. The conceptual framework also provides a perspective on the nature and variety of Institutional Research (IR). (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)